Shenmue Dojo

Love them all and couldn't pick a favourite if I was asked. Just finished the remasters 100% and of course I had to fire up Knight again to 100% that. Just great games, and yes the rumor is an Origins sequel with a better batmobile mechanic etc. Just been a rumor for a while now though which is a shame because they are just awesome games which I didn't want to stop either.

Origins is also my favorite.

It's got the strongest story out of the ones I played (haven't played Knight yet). The Christmas setting is pretty pleasant compared to the claustrophobic Asylum and dirty criminal-filled City. Other than launch bugs, the only other reason why people I think people didn't give it a fair shake was because of Joker fatigue from 2 other games with him as big bad. Looked at in a vacuum, the Joker/Batman dynamic is great. The detective portions actually did feel like I was doing some detective work, at least compared to the "batcomputer solve this case while I slowly walk in this direction" that tends to happen in modern Batman media.

I like the Riddler trophies that actually make you solve a riddle or puzzle to get. It just gets tedious because a bunch of them are just "blow up wall, get trophy" and they seem to add more of the latter rather than the former every game.

As far as the comparison to DCAU, I'd say DCAU as a whole is better. If we're just talking BTAS, I could see the edge going to the Arkham series. BTAS had amazing episodes, but there were also a ton of mediocre or just plain bad episodes, which you can't really say about the Arkham series.

I just got back into Star Trek Online on PS4 a couple weeks ago and haven't been able to put it down. If any of you enjoy Star Trek or MMOs, then I highly recommend checking it out. The game is Free to Play on PC, PS4 and X1. You literally don't need to spend a penny to have the full experience.



I'm also in the middle of Sonic Mania on the Switch. The great part here is that it's classic Sonic from the Genesis days. My two eldest kiddos are having fun playing through it as well.



Next week I'll be starting up Uncharted Lost Legacy on PS4. I already have access to it via the Triple Pack that I bought for Uncharted 4 months before that game released. It was $25 at the time so I'm saving nearly 50%. The sad part for me is that there is no steelbook edition and no strategy guide coming out for it. As Uncharted is my favorite series, those are the only games that I buy either collector's editions or strategy guides for (aside from Shenmue if we ever get an HD Collection Collector's Edition). I'm really looking forward to playing through Lost Legacy but will miss Nathan Drake's witty banter.

Currently playing a lot of archeage. This game reminds me a lot of SWG, where it offers the players a lot of freedom but a ton of people shit on the game for... reasons. The game is definitely p2w (you can buy gold in a convoluted way through the cash shop, which gives you gold to get the best gear possible), but really it is you are just exchanging the grind you do for money irl for the grind in game. I can see how it may frustrate younger people without jobs, but I'm an adult damnit, I don't want to spend all day killing boars for money. If you are reasonable about it it isn't even a lot, it basically equates to a subscription fee. It really isn't that much of a problem unless you want to be the best of the best. The people with the best gear are the ones who spend hundreds of dollars a month, and to compete with them you have to spend a similar amount. If you dont want to be the best and have the time then one could easily not spend a single cent on the game.

Anyway, other than the p2w controversy, it is a really neat game. It gives me a SWG feel due to the community it tries to build, and the freedom it offers to players. You aren't locked into a specific class, you choose skills one by one as you level up. Yoru character really feels unique to you and I really like that.

Not really playing anything right now, but I did spend a couple of hours on Klax and Chips Challenge on the Lynx, the other night.

I am on the Sonic Mania train now. I messed around with a few levels in no save mode just to check it out a little bit last night. Man its crazy to see how far gaming has come since the 80s and 90s when saves werent an option and going through every level every time you turned on the game was mandatory, looking back on it it was an absolutely brutal way to play games (ugh and when the power would go out, it was rage inducing) but it forced you to REALLY get to know the game. I'll start a save soon and actually start making progress, I like the new additions to the game, the old school controls are just as I remember them and even the controls in the blue/read ball bonus stages are difficult, and I can feel the learning curve.

My friend is a really big "Tales of" fan and we're playing through this together. I'm really enjoying myself, these games are super fun co-op.

I love that game, but could never stand the opening. There's just something about it.

Co-op in JRPGs is a wonderful thing *remembers the Tales of games and Eternal Sonata*

Everybody's Golf on PS4 - I'm kinda disappointed at how much single player i have to play to unlock stuff for playing online. Oh well

Gonna be playing nothing but destiny 2 here in a couple days. hnnnnngh cant wait.

Trying to juggle 3 games at the minute:

No Man's Sky
Sonic Mania
Yakuza Kiawami


No Man's Sky I went back to after the 1.3 patch, and it is decent I have to say. Slightly addictive with farming to get the mega bucks needed, but I can't help feel it's still... Missing something? But I don't know what. Maybe a bit more of a storyline than the one they have added to increase the emotional attachment outside of exploration. Exploring is great in games, I am an explorer, but the problem I have is that the galaxy is far too big to offer more varied scenery on planets. At least that's what I've experienced.

Sonic Mania is great. I can't say much more than that for a faithfully recreated 16bit era game. But that dude Whitehead has some fucking serious level design skills. The originality he has added is definitely to be applauded.

Yakuza Kiawami.... I'm gonna go against the general consensus here and say I am not enjoying it. At all. I've already played it, so I know the plot points. It's great it's in the new engine, but ive just spent so long in 0 that it's feels boring. The location is more or less the same, and if anything, they seem to have removed some elements which makes it feel like it's gone backwards rather than forwards. That's the biggest problem I have with it. I'm bored. Add to the fact that from day one on the original, I've had the gripes that exist with the series overall. Like the 4 chapter story heavy beginning where you are so restricted in terms of exploration and freedom. Then when you do get let loose... I really don't understand this whole walk past a group of guys and either leg it to avoid a fight, or take them on in that is always a repeated battle. Again, adds to the boring aspect. Don't get me wrong, a good game, but so soon after 0 and the fact that 0 seems to be a more original content filled game, that perhaps my enthusiasm has been desensitized or saturated.

Welp, I moved onto a new MMO, Final Fantasy XIV. The game has a rather generous unlimited trial (I think it is level capped at 35, but that gives you access to a crapload of content due to the jobs system) The environments are fairly immersive, and the games ability to make you care about the story is amazing. The storytelling is way better than KOTOR, and feels like how a story in a final fantasy MMO should be. I also really like how you aren't limited to a single class (called jobs in this game), and can learn literally every class and crafting profession the game has to offer. You level goes back to level 1 when you change over to a new job, which forces experienced players to play low level content to level their new jobs, which makes the newbie areas always populated. I absolutely love, love, LOVE that there is a practical tutorial that teaches new players how to fight in a group. I almost exclusively play dps spell casting characters in MMOs so I naturally went with thaumaturge (speaking of thaumaturge, the game's spell system allows you to do non-stop DPS since you can go into a mode where you regen mana to reduce DPS. No more reliance on mana potions!) , and I only did their group training tutorial, but it goes over how a magic DPS dealer should act in a group. They teach you to avoid attacks, usually stay focused on what the tank is attacking, and destroy mobs that attack the healer as quickly as possible. While it is very basic, it is basically mandatory stuff any DPS caster should know. I am currently learning how to be a conjurer (prerequisite for white mage) and I am unfamiliar with healing in MMOs so I am looking forward to how the training for that will be like.

The inventory system is another great part in the game in that it gives you a crapton of inventory space from the start. You start with enough space for 140 general items, and 35 slots for every individual type of armor (e.g. 35 slots for weapons, 35 slots for chest pieces, etc). This is ultra refreshing because every other MMO I played restricts inventory space to force you to buy stuff on the in-game marketplace or a cash shop.

Only thing I kinda dislike about the game is that it sorta discourages conversations between random people. The only real general chat channel is /shout and /say, everything else is private. No one ever uses /say, and you don't find people using /shout until about level 25 or so. Makes the game feel extremely quiet, but I kinda enjoy it since it forces you to play the game how you like to play since you aren't experiencing randos bitching about classes or whatever. I dislike it a bit because I typically meet new people in MMOS by shooting the shit in general chat. However, the story and quests are so good that I really don't give a shit about other players unless I need materials for crafting.